Lecture on what is a good photograph

AHarvey said:
Very simply put, a good photograph is one that engages the viewer.

I've had a scan over the thread etc and knew things like story telling and technical ability would be mentioned. However, you can't tell a story in every type of photo, its impossible and a lot of the public have no idea about the technicalities of photography.

What engages the viewer might be different for each viewer. Photos like the Afghan Girl, the vietnam soldier shooting a man in the head (http://www.executedtoday.com/images/Nguyen_Van_Lem_big.jpg) or even Ansel Adams' landscapes will all make the viewer feel different things, and for others, they may feel nothing.

Personally I would take "classic" photos like those mentioned and go through them, ask the class what they feel from each photo and discuss them.
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I agree with this. When you say "a good photograph is one that engages the viewer", I said a good photo is captivating, these are synonyms really.

I agree with he story telling. I mentioned technical abilities only in passing because most good photos have a mostly good technical side but by no means follow a list of rules and it is by no means a requirement. The great painters were mostly technically good, but its wasn't a requirement, and some styles are not classical in technique, such as Picasso's more abstract art.
 
Personally, I think a good photo is one that simply captures emotion, no matter what the subject is. You can have emotion in a picture, and elicit an emotional response from looking at a photo.

If a photo leaves you feeling indifferent, it's failed to be a good photo (at least for you). Everyone likes different things, but in general the above holds true. There are plenty of photos out there, but even the ones that I don't like that are taken well I will appreciate, as I can see when it will provoke a response from someone.

As mentioned above though, some pre set up portrait shots are terribly fake and they to me are the worst sort of photography. It reminds me of those bland US family photos you always see where everyone looks like corpses :D
 
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Since this seems to be for beginners id add something in as well along these lines, to complement with what has already been said above.

A good photograph is one that the photographer had fun going out and taking and in doing so learnt a bit more. The photograph might not be good good, but it was good in the fact that it helps the photographer progress a small step further with every shot.
 
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